Li reacts with N2 at room temperature. In order to activate Li, the mechanical milling of Li with stable metal oxide, namely, Al2O3 and MgO, using a high energy vibrating ball mill was performed. In the case of Li-MgO system, it reacts with N2, but hardly reacts with O2. The reaction with N2 generally produces Li3N, while for some vigorous reactions the Mg3N2 is produced as the major phases. In the case of Li-Al2O3 system, reactivities with both N2 and O2 are high. The difference is explained in terms of the reaction mechanism and the Li state.

The mechanical properties of sintered low alloy steels were analysed using Finite Element Methods (FEM), in which the powder is modelled as an elastic–plastic continuum material. A quantitative analysis of microstructure was correlated with tensile and fatigue behavior to understand the influence of pore size, shape, and distribution on mechanical behavior. Tensile strength, Young’s modulus, strain-to-failure, and fatigue strength all increased with a decrease in porosity. The decrease in Young’s modulus with increasing porosity was predicted by analytical modeling. Two-dimensional microstructure-based finite element modeling showed that the enhanced tensile and fatigue behavior of the denser steels could be attributed to smaller, more homogeneous, and more spherical porosity which resulted in more homogeneous deformation and decreased strain localization in the material. The relationship between relative density of P/M steels and mechanical behavior is also obtained from FEA and compared with the experimenta data. Good agreement between the experimental and FEA results is observed, which demonstrates that FEA can capture the major features of the P/M steels behaviour during loading. The implications of pore size, morphology, and distribution on the mechanical behavior and fracture of P/M steels are discussed. It is therefore demonstrated that FEA can predict the possible mechanism of failure during loading.

In this study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) and hydroxyapatite-yttria stabilized zirconia (HAp-3YSZ) with 20 vol. %– (ZrO2+3 %mol Y2O3) nanopowders were consolidated very rapidly to full density by High-frequency induction heat sintering (HFIHS). Effects of temperature and the addition of 3YSZ on the toughness, hardness and microstructure properties have been studied. 3YSZ second phase toughening HAp composites with higher toughness were successfully developed at relatively low temperatures through this technique. Compared with hardness and toughness obtained for pure HAp, the hardness and toughness for HAp-20vol. % 3YSZ were much higher.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell technology uses powder processes to produce electrodes with residual porosity by partially sintering a mixture of electronically and ionically conducting particles. We model porous fuel cell electrodes with 3D packings of monosized spherical particles. These packings are created by numerical sintering. Each particle-particle contact is characteristic for an ionic, electronic or electrochemical resistance. The numerical packing is then discretized into a resistor network which is solved by using Kirchhoff's current law to evaluate the electrode's electrochemical performance. We investigate in particular percolation effects in functionally graded electrodes as compared to other types of electrodes.

In recent years, PCB drills with smaller diameters less than 0.1 mm are used and thus there are growing needs for ultra-fine grained cemented carbides. However, ultra-fine WC powder usually causes extraordinary grain growth during sintering which weakens mechanical strength of ultra-fine grained cemented carbides. So we examined several kinds of WC powders to make new ultra-fine grained cemented carbides having superior performance. We found that direct carburized WC powder is very good as a WC raw material. The PCB drills made of the developed ultra-fine grained cemented carbides have higher hardness, toughness and stiffness than conventional ones.

The sintered parts are mainly used for automobile industry, and a part of air conditioners. In automobile industry, the application range of sintered parts is very broad and use for a driving and a lubricating system. And air conditioner uses them for compressor. Grinding of compressor and pump parts is very difficult these days, because these parts use High hardness materials and require high precision grinding. Tool life has to be extended to decrease production cost. We analyzed processing mechanism and developed new grinding wheels for Double Disk Grinding. And, we introduce new truing technology that improved tool-life and precision.

In order to clarify the wear resistance as cutting tools, the effect of oxygen addition on oxidation behavior of the β-Si3N4 ceramics with 5 mass% Y2O3 and 2 or 4 mass% Al2O3 was investigated by performing oxidation tests in air at 1300° to 1400°C and cutting performance tests. From test results, we could conclude that the mechanical properties of β-Si3N4 ceramics depending on oxygen introduction are much effective on cutting performance improvements of β-Si3N4 ceramics.

In the present work, hot workability of particulate-reinforced Al6061-20%SiC composite produced by direct hot extrusion technique was studied. Uniaxial hot compression test at various temperatures and strain rates was used and the workability behavior was evaluated from the flow curves and the attendant microstructures. It was shown that the presence of SiC particles in the soft Al6061 matrix deteriorates the hot workability. Bulging of the specimens and flow lines were observed, which indicate the plastic instability during hot working. Microstructure of the composites after hot deformation was found to be heterogeneous, i.e. the reinforcement clusters were observed at the flow lines. The mechanism of deformation was found to be controlled primarily by dynamic recrystallization.

For microelectronic circuits, the main type of failure is thermal fatigue. Therefore, the search for matched coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of packaging materials in combination with a high thermal conductivity is the main task for developments of heat sink materials electronics, and good mechanical properties are also required. The aim of this work is to develop copper matrix composites reinforced with carbon nanofibers to meet these requirements. In this paper, a technology for obtaining a homogeneous mixture of copper and nanofibers will be presented and the microstructure and properties of consolidated samples will be discussed.

Recent research at Harbin Institute of Technology on the synthesis of nanocrystalline and untrafine grained materials by mechanical alloying/milling is reviewed. Examples of the materials include aluminum alloy, copper alloy, magnesium-based hydrogen storage material, and Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe magnetic nanocomposite. Details of the processes of mechanical alloying and consolidation of the mechanically alloyed nanocrystalline powder materials are presented. The microstructure characteristics and properties of the synthesized materials are addressed.

Electric scroll-compressor drives are commonly used for e.g. home appliance cooling units. The recent development of hybrid cars with internal combustion engine in combination with electrical propulsion requires new solutions to be able to cool the passenger compartment of cars at stand-still. Both application areas demand efficient motor drives to reach good economy and efficient use of limited battery power as well as competitive volume/weight for a given output. The BLDC motor is a controllable and efficient solution. A major part of the motor is the soft-magnetic core. The powder based Somaloy® material shows high resistivity and induction as the result of engineered iron particles with in-organic coating. The unique features of compacted Somaloy® components can be utilized to enhance the shape and total volume of the BLDC motor with at least maintained efficiency compared to the use of traditional laminated steel sheet cores. A careful design of the Somaloy® components can also simplify assembly and positively influence the coil configuration. This study shows a comparison between a typical laminated BLDC motor and a redesigned, Somaloy® based version adapted for a scroll-compressor application.

Gas surface treatment is considered to be effective for titanium because of its high reactivity. In this study, we investigated the gas nitriding mechanism in titanium sintered parts produced by metal powder injection molding (MIM) process. The microstructure and nitrogen content of sintered MIM parts were greatly affected by nitriding conditions. Nitriding process strongly depended on the specimen size, for example, the size of micro metal injection molding (μ-MIM) product is so small and the specific surface is so large that the mechanical and functional properties can be modified by nitriding.

Mechanical properties of metal injection molded titanium and titanium alloy parts were investigated in this study. Material powders with low oxygen content and spherical shape were obtained by electrode induction-melting gas atomization which could melt and atomize titanium and titanium alloy bars with no touch on crucible or tundish. Tensile specimens were fabricated from obtained powders by metal injection molding process. Tensile strength of the specimens increases with increasing oxygen content. This result corresponds to a tendency of wrought metal.